I feel like a robot; a case of Teucrium marum

by Alex Leupen

The patient is a 38 year old man, whose
first consultation was in 1992. He came because of infections around his finger
nails (panaritium), which started two months previously. At first, it was very
painful, as though a needle had been stuck in his fingers.

Another problem is a lack of feelings: he
is not even depressed, it is just that nothing seems to touch him. “It just
leaves me cold and apathetic, I feel like a robot.” This partly has to do with
being unemployed. Seven years previously, he had graduated as an ecologist. Since
then, he has had seven contract jobs but he has been unemployed for the last
four months. He has written many job applications and is sad about the fact
that he cannot find a job. “My energy disappears into nothing, I can’t build
anything up.”

Medical
history:
At 16, he had two tumours under his tongue, filled with yellow fluid. One was
surgically removed, the other shrank on its own. Before that, he had a lot of problems
with worms and mucous in his stools. He has often lived in communal settings,
where he would be affected by arguments: “I can’t stand it if I can’t trust
people.” Arguments seemed to bring on infestations of worms and he would have
anal itch in the evenings and in bed. He tends to bite his fingernails.

Character
and biography:“I am very friendly.” He lives alone, likes his own
territory, though in the past he often lived in communities due to his
idealism. He wants to live in such a way that on his deathbed he can look back satisfied
with his life. He is a strict vegetarian. He has been brought up in the Dutch
Reformed Church, known for its dogmatic approach. He is the youngest of four
children. His mother was very dominant and gave her children the feeling that
they could never do anything right. His father kept to the background. He was
brought up with the feeling that “people are bad and the world is bad.” For a
long time he did not want to have children of his own.

He is attracted to both men and women. He
has a daughter, together with a girlfriend who lives in the same street; his
daughter spends half of the week with him. He does not want to live together
with his girlfriend.

He would like to be involved in Amnesty
International but cannot stand the stories of violence and torture; they touch
him too deeply. “I prefer to just donate money.” He occupies himself with the
protection of nature and with leadership functions. He hates having to apply
for jobs, as though he is selling himself. “This culture has too much packaging
and too little content, it is a bla bla culture, all full of air.”

Analysis:
The combination of panaritium and worms is a good
indication for Teucrium marum (cat thyme). Teucrium is also a remedy for nose
polyps; this man had tumours under his tongue. His reaction to cruel stories is
quite noticeable. Teucrium is found in this rubric: “Horrible things and sad
stories upset her profoundly.”

Prescription:
Teucrium 200K

Follow-up:
His fingers healed quickly and he felt emotionally much better. A year later,
his GP, who had sent him to me, reported that he was still doing very well.

Teucrium is a plant from the Lamiales
family. Rajan Sankaran uses the former name Labiatae; he emphasises the
sensation “excitement, which can be vivid, pleasant and tremulous.” As a
passive reaction he names “lack of excitability, absent reaction to external
things, numbness, disinterest.” This man calls himself a robot: “Everything
leaves me cold and apathetic.” His feelings are numbed, which is a good
illustration of a passive reaction fitting the Lamiaceae.

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